Florence, Italy
In most of Europe, the early Christian practice of having a distinct baptistry building, separate from the church, belongs to a period in which large numbers of adults were being instructed and then baptized in groups by the rule of full immersion. This lapsed in the late Middle Ages, when baptisms were normally of infants who were simply sprinkled with holy water. It then became more practical to have smaller fonts placed inside church buildings.
The sacramental importance and sometimes architectural splendor of the baptistry reflects the historical importance of baptism to Christians. Beginning in the fourth century, baptistries in Italy were often designed with an octagonal plan, as eight was and remains a very symbolic number for both the Jews and Christians. First, the number eight is most closely associated with the Resurrection and the New Creation. Jesus rose on the “eighth day,” the day after the Jewish sabbath. Second, Jewish boys were circumcised on the eighth day, and Saint Paul explains to his communities: “One is not a Jew outwardly. True circumcision is not outward, in the flesh. Rather, one is a Jew inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit, not the letter” (Romans 2:28-29). Third, the number eight recalls the ark and how eight people were saved by water.
One of the most splendid baptistries in the world is the one named in honor of St. John the Baptist, standing in front of the cathedral in Florence (above, left). It is considered the ancient religious and civil center of Florence, as well as a masterpiece of Italian Romanesque architecture. The monument we know today was consecrated in 1059 by Pope Niccolò II. “My Saint John, the beautiful,” as Dante called it, is an octagonal building 84 feet across. The exterior, ordered on three vertical levels, is capped by a double vault consisting of eight internal sails and an external eight-sided prismatic roof. The walls, covered in white and green marble with geometric designs, open through three portals and 24 windows. A splendid mosaic decoration (cover), completed by the 14th century, covers the entire interior vault. The three entryways were adorned with beautiful bronze doors, whose originals are now preserved in museums. The south pair are molded with episodes of the life of the Baptist; the north doors, with Stories of Christ; and the eastern pair, renamed the “Gates of Paradise” by Ghiberti, are ornamented with ten stories from the Old Testament.
On this feast of the Baptism of the Lord: do you know where you were baptized, and the date? Have you maintained a relationship with your godparents, sponsors, or godchild? Do you pray for them, living or deceased? Parents, do you think to re-light your child’s baptismal candle on their anniversary, or on the day of their First Holy Communion or Confirmation? When they become of age, have you thought to hand it on to them, whose light was first entrusted to you to be kept burning brightly?
Fr. Terry